Struggling with too much exercise?
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Hi @imath0303, finally had a chance to look through your diary and well ... honestly I cannot see how you're burning so much from exercise. Yesterday you got 2,103kcals for exercise, 3,652kcals the day before and 3,172kcals the day before that. What are you doing to get those kind of numbers? I know it's calorie adjustment from fitbit, but just doing 20miles walking wouldn't even be close to that kind of burn. Personally I don't sync my fitbit steps to MFP because the adjustments just didn't seem to make any sense for me (like 500 extra calories for 3000steps). Just out of interest, when you go onto the fitbit app, what does it say your daily burn is? (on the desktop app you can find out your 28day average burn also, I find this much more helpful than relying on MFP calorie adjustment)
I appreciate that you're not always eating all of those calories back but in the last 7 days, on average you're eating 3284kcals per day. TDEE calculators put you at about 2,887kcals to maintain with a very active activity level. Of course, as you have a fitbit, you can have a vague idea as to how accurate that TDEE value is (which is why I asked before).
Also, bit of an aside, but have you considered increasing your protein levels? Currently you're averaging around 20% which is fine, but as you're doing a lot of exercise, especially endurance work, you may well benefit from a higher protein intake. Another benefit is that many people find protein filling, so this might help with your satiety on a slightly lower calorie level. Try bumping it up to around 30% and see how it goes.
I would say on average I get between 30-35000 steps during the week and upwards of 40000 on the weekend. Being that I was unhappy with the weight gain, I did start to incorporate some running and eating less, around 2300-2400 calories. I also did try to incorporate some more protein in my diet the last few days but it is difficult because I have selective eating disorder (look it up if you don't know what it is, basically picky eating to the extreme). I'm seeing my weight start to go back down. I would eventually like to bulk but I think it'll have to be a bulk with no sweets and stuff because I will binge on ice cream and cake etc. I also want to not do as much activity and get down to around 15-20000 steps a day but I really struggle to find my maintenance. I also love eating the foods that I actually enjoy so that makes it even more difficult lol4 -
There's something wrong with your potato entry, Potato - Russet Potatoes, 1100 g. / 5.3 oz. 1100 g /= 5.3 oz. I can tell that is a user-created entry because it doesn't specify Raw or Cooked.
Unfortunately, the "verified" green check marks in the MFP database are used for both user-created entries and system entries. To find system entries for whole foods, I get the syntax from the USDA database and plug that into MFP.
For packaged foods, I verify the label against what I find in MFP.
If your potatoes were baked or raw, and with skin use one of these:
If boiled and/or without skin do a search in the USDA database for potatoes, boiled, and use the relevant entry.
2 -
His potato entry is close enough. The USDA entry for potatoes, flesh and skin, raw for russet potatoes is 79 calories for 100 grams. It's only amounts to about 50 calories more than the entry he's logging.
I'm 120 pounds and have reached close to 35K steps today. I also lifted weights. My calorie adjustment from Fitbit with both Fitbit and MFP set to sedentary is about 1200 calories. I know from having tracked another Fitbit device in the past that Fitbit burns are reliable for me. And since I know this, I know that Runner's World efficiency calculation isn't right.
OP, you have to be willing to see the scale move and understand that it is NOT fat gain that you are seeing. You are stressing your body by underfueling it. Your constant hunger is a sign of this.
If it's psychologically easier for you, get back down to your comfy weight and then gradually decrease your steps while slightly upping your calories, maybe 100 calories or so a week.
You shouldn't notice such dramatic water weight shifts then.3 -
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »His potato entry is close enough. The USDA entry for potatoes, flesh and skin, raw for russet potatoes is 79 calories for 100 grams. It's only amounts to about 50 calories more than the entry he's logging.
I'm 120 pounds and have reached close to 35K steps today. I also lifted weights. My calorie adjustment from Fitbit with both Fitbit and MFP set to sedentary is about 1200 calories. I know from having tracked another Fitbit device in the past that Fitbit burns are reliable for me. And since I know this, I know that Runner's World efficiency calculation isn't right.
OP, you have to be willing to see the scale move and understand that it is NOT fat gain that you are seeing. You are stressing your body by underfueling it. Your constant hunger is a sign of this.
If it's psychologically easier for you, get back down to your comfy weight and then gradually decrease your steps while slightly upping your calories, maybe 100 calories or so a week.
You shouldn't notice such dramatic water weight shifts then.
It didn't feel like water weight though. My pants and belt felt much tighter. I know some of the 8 pounds was definitely water weight but over the week and a half of eating extra I saw a 4lb gain I think. That is my plan. I'm going to get down about 10 pounds to a weight I feel more comfortable at and then add my calories in a little slower. I think that was my issue is that I added all those calories back at once and my body didn't know what to do with all of them. I know I'm stressing it out and that's why I want to cut back on exercise. It just needs to happen a slower pace I think0 -
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »His potato entry is close enough. The USDA entry for potatoes, flesh and skin, raw for russet potatoes is 79 calories for 100 grams. It's only amounts to about 50 calories more than the entry he's logging.
I'm 120 pounds and have reached close to 35K steps today. I also lifted weights. My calorie adjustment from Fitbit with both Fitbit and MFP set to sedentary is about 1200 calories. I know from having tracked another Fitbit device in the past that Fitbit burns are reliable for me. And since I know this, I know that Runner's World efficiency calculation isn't right.
OP, you have to be willing to see the scale move and understand that it is NOT fat gain that you are seeing. You are stressing your body by underfueling it. Your constant hunger is a sign of this.
If it's psychologically easier for you, get back down to your comfy weight and then gradually decrease your steps while slightly upping your calories, maybe 100 calories or so a week.
You shouldn't notice such dramatic water weight shifts then.
It didn't feel like water weight though. My pants and belt felt much tighter. I know some of the 8 pounds was definitely water weight but over the week and a half of eating extra I saw a 4lb gain I think. That is my plan. I'm going to get down about 10 pounds to a weight I feel more comfortable at and then add my calories in a little slower. I think that was my issue is that I added all those calories back at once and my body didn't know what to do with all of them. I know I'm stressing it out and that's why I want to cut back on exercise. It just needs to happen a slower pace I think
It was not 4 pounds of fat. Do you seriously believe you ate 14,000 calories over maintenance in that time?
There's more undigested food in your system when you eat a lot more calories, and a whole lot more going on with your hormones.
I understand, though, that seeing such a dramatically higher number is stressful for you and I agree that a gradual approach will be better for you.
Saying that, you've got to prepare yourself for scale fluctuations if you ever want to approach real maintenance without over-exercising.
Start using a weight trending app like Libra, Happy Scale, or Trend Weight. Give it a good couple weeks to collect data before you freak out about anything, okay?4 -
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »His potato entry is close enough. The USDA entry for potatoes, flesh and skin, raw for russet potatoes is 79 calories for 100 grams. It's only amounts to about 50 calories more than the entry he's logging...[snip]
@jmath0303 are you really eating 1,100 grams of potatoes at a time? That's 39 oz, not 5.3 oz, which is the other part of the entry.
I get that you have selective eating disorder, but since at least one part of the entry, either the 1,100 grams or the 5.3 oz, is wrong, wanted to see which it was (and also point out that it was a user-created entry, which I try to avoid like the plague.)2 -
Hi @imath0303, finally had a chance to look through your diary and well ... honestly I cannot see how you're burning so much from exercise. Yesterday you got 2,103kcals for exercise, 3,652kcals the day before and 3,172kcals the day before that. What are you doing to get those kind of numbers? I know it's calorie adjustment from fitbit, but just doing 20miles walking wouldn't even be close to that kind of burn. Personally I don't sync my fitbit steps to MFP because the adjustments just didn't seem to make any sense for me (like 500 extra calories for 3000steps). Just out of interest, when you go onto the fitbit app, what does it say your daily burn is? (on the desktop app you can find out your 28day average burn also, I find this much more helpful than relying on MFP calorie adjustment)
I appreciate that you're not always eating all of those calories back but in the last 7 days, on average you're eating 3284kcals per day. TDEE calculators put you at about 2,887kcals to maintain with a very active activity level. Of course, as you have a fitbit, you can have a vague idea as to how accurate that TDEE value is (which is why I asked before).
Also, bit of an aside, but have you considered increasing your protein levels? Currently you're averaging around 20% which is fine, but as you're doing a lot of exercise, especially endurance work, you may well benefit from a higher protein intake. Another benefit is that many people find protein filling, so this might help with your satiety on a slightly lower calorie level. Try bumping it up to around 30% and see how it goes.
I would say on average I get between 30-35000 steps during the week and upwards of 40000 on the weekend. Being that I was unhappy with the weight gain, I did start to incorporate some running and eating less, around 2300-2400 calories. I also did try to incorporate some more protein in my diet the last few days but it is difficult because I have selective eating disorder (look it up if you don't know what it is, basically picky eating to the extreme). I'm seeing my weight start to go back down. I would eventually like to bulk but I think it'll have to be a bulk with no sweets and stuff because I will binge on ice cream and cake etc. I also want to not do as much activity and get down to around 15-20000 steps a day but I really struggle to find my maintenance. I also love eating the foods that I actually enjoy so that makes it even more difficult lol
I think you've misunderstood my point. Those numbers are are high even considering the amount of steps your do. I appreciate that you would like to reduce the amount of exercise you do right now, but I think that one of your issues you're having is that you're over estimating your calorie burn. From what you've said, at the moment you're swinging from undereating to overeating and are clearly struggling to find a balance. May I suggest unlinking your fitbit from your account because honestly I don't think it's helping and I think it's just muddying your numbers. From there you really have three options as the step you can take.
1) Work out what your maintaining calories is, then reduce your steps afterwards, adjusting your calories as you go
2) Reduce your steps first, then work out your maintenance calories
3) Try eating at fixed amount. At the same time try reducing your steps.
Personally I've go with the third option and pick an target of around about 3000kcals initially. Reducing calories as you reduce the number of steps.
And remember that finding comfortable maintenance isn't easy. If you speak to people who have successfully maintained for long term, they'll tell you that the transition is often hard. Expect to gain some weight, expect to lose some weight as you try and find a balance. Especially as you're changing around your exercise amount.
Oh, and yes, water weight can make your clothes feel tighter. That is completely normal.5 -
kshama2001 wrote: »There's something wrong with your potato entry, Potato - Russet Potatoes, 1100 g. / 5.3 oz. 1100 g /= 5.3 oz. I can tell that is a user-created entry because it doesn't specify Raw or Cooked.
Unfortunately, the "verified" green check marks in the MFP database are used for both user-created entries and system entries. To find system entries for whole foods, I get the syntax from the USDA database and plug that into MFP.
For packaged foods, I verify the label against what I find in MFP.
If your potatoes were baked or raw, and with skin use one of these:
If boiled and/or without skin do a search in the USDA database for potatoes, boiled, and use the relevant entry.
So those potatoes are air fried with no oil or anything added to them. Would I add them as raw? Or baked?0 -
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »His potato entry is close enough. The USDA entry for potatoes, flesh and skin, raw for russet potatoes is 79 calories for 100 grams. It's only amounts to about 50 calories more than the entry he's logging.
I'm 120 pounds and have reached close to 35K steps today. I also lifted weights. My calorie adjustment from Fitbit with both Fitbit and MFP set to sedentary is about 1200 calories. I know from having tracked another Fitbit device in the past that Fitbit burns are reliable for me. And since I know this, I know that Runner's World efficiency calculation isn't right.
OP, you have to be willing to see the scale move and understand that it is NOT fat gain that you are seeing. You are stressing your body by underfueling it. Your constant hunger is a sign of this.
If it's psychologically easier for you, get back down to your comfy weight and then gradually decrease your steps while slightly upping your calories, maybe 100 calories or so a week.
You shouldn't notice such dramatic water weight shifts then.
It didn't feel like water weight though. My pants and belt felt much tighter. I know some of the 8 pounds was definitely water weight but over the week and a half of eating extra I saw a 4lb gain I think. That is my plan. I'm going to get down about 10 pounds to a weight I feel more comfortable at and then add my calories in a little slower. I think that was my issue is that I added all those calories back at once and my body didn't know what to do with all of them. I know I'm stressing it out and that's why I want to cut back on exercise. It just needs to happen a slower pace I think
It was not 4 pounds of fat. Do you seriously believe you ate 14,000 calories over maintenance in that time?
There's more undigested food in your system when you eat a lot more calories, and a whole lot more going on with your hormones.
I understand, though, that seeing such a dramatically higher number is stressful for you and I agree that a gradual approach will be better for you.
Saying that, you've got to prepare yourself for scale fluctuations if you ever want to approach real maintenance without over-exercising.
Start using a weight trending app like Libra, Happy Scale, or Trend Weight. Give it a good couple weeks to collect data before you freak out about anything, okay?
Lol it's tough when you lose 150 pounds and see the scale jump up that much in a week. I am keeping track of my weight in mfp. I will try to relax a little more about it0 -
kshama2001 wrote: »There's something wrong with your potato entry, Potato - Russet Potatoes, 1100 g. / 5.3 oz. 1100 g /= 5.3 oz. I can tell that is a user-created entry because it doesn't specify Raw or Cooked.
Unfortunately, the "verified" green check marks in the MFP database are used for both user-created entries and system entries. To find system entries for whole foods, I get the syntax from the USDA database and plug that into MFP.
For packaged foods, I verify the label against what I find in MFP.
If your potatoes were baked or raw, and with skin use one of these:
If boiled and/or without skin do a search in the USDA database for potatoes, boiled, and use the relevant entry.
So those potatoes are air fried with no oil or anything added to them. Would I add them as raw? Or baked?
It's usually best to use the entry for raw foods and measure stuff before you cook it since the weight after cooking can vary depending on how much water has escaped during cooking.1 -
Hi @imath0303, finally had a chance to look through your diary and well ... honestly I cannot see how you're burning so much from exercise. Yesterday you got 2,103kcals for exercise, 3,652kcals the day before and 3,172kcals the day before that. What are you doing to get those kind of numbers? I know it's calorie adjustment from fitbit, but just doing 20miles walking wouldn't even be close to that kind of burn. Personally I don't sync my fitbit steps to MFP because the adjustments just didn't seem to make any sense for me (like 500 extra calories for 3000steps). Just out of interest, when you go onto the fitbit app, what does it say your daily burn is? (on the desktop app you can find out your 28day average burn also, I find this much more helpful than relying on MFP calorie adjustment)
I appreciate that you're not always eating all of those calories back but in the last 7 days, on average you're eating 3284kcals per day. TDEE calculators put you at about 2,887kcals to maintain with a very active activity level. Of course, as you have a fitbit, you can have a vague idea as to how accurate that TDEE value is (which is why I asked before).
Also, bit of an aside, but have you considered increasing your protein levels? Currently you're averaging around 20% which is fine, but as you're doing a lot of exercise, especially endurance work, you may well benefit from a higher protein intake. Another benefit is that many people find protein filling, so this might help with your satiety on a slightly lower calorie level. Try bumping it up to around 30% and see how it goes.
I would say on average I get between 30-35000 steps during the week and upwards of 40000 on the weekend. Being that I was unhappy with the weight gain, I did start to incorporate some running and eating less, around 2300-2400 calories. I also did try to incorporate some more protein in my diet the last few days but it is difficult because I have selective eating disorder (look it up if you don't know what it is, basically picky eating to the extreme). I'm seeing my weight start to go back down. I would eventually like to bulk but I think it'll have to be a bulk with no sweets and stuff because I will binge on ice cream and cake etc. I also want to not do as much activity and get down to around 15-20000 steps a day but I really struggle to find my maintenance. I also love eating the foods that I actually enjoy so that makes it even more difficult lol
I think you've misunderstood my point. Those numbers are are high even considering the amount of steps your do. I appreciate that you would like to reduce the amount of exercise you do right now, but I think that one of your issues you're having is that you're over estimating your calorie burn. From what you've said, at the moment you're swinging from undereating to overeating and are clearly struggling to find a balance. May I suggest unlinking your fitbit from your account because honestly I don't think it's helping and I think it's just muddying your numbers. From there you really have three options as the step you can take.
1) Work out what your maintaining calories is, then reduce your steps afterwards, adjusting your calories as you go
2) Reduce your steps first, then work out your maintenance calories
3) Try eating at fixed amount. At the same time try reducing your steps.
Personally I've go with the third option and pick an target of around about 3000kcals initially. Reducing calories as you reduce the number of steps.
And remember that finding comfortable maintenance isn't easy. If you speak to people who have successfully maintained for long term, they'll tell you that the transition is often hard. Expect to gain some weight, expect to lose some weight as you try and find a balance. Especially as you're changing around your exercise amount.
Oh, and yes, water weight can make your clothes feel tighter. That is completely normal.
Correct, I am struggling to find maintenance. My average burn through the fitbit app is around 4300 but I am rarely eating anywhere near that. My plan is to get rid of this extra water weight or whatever and then reduce my steps to around 15-20k and pick an arbitrary number of calories, maybe like 2300 or so and just adjust from there hopefully.0 -
Hi @imath0303, finally had a chance to look through your diary and well ... honestly I cannot see how you're burning so much from exercise. Yesterday you got 2,103kcals for exercise, 3,652kcals the day before and 3,172kcals the day before that. What are you doing to get those kind of numbers? I know it's calorie adjustment from fitbit, but just doing 20miles walking wouldn't even be close to that kind of burn. Personally I don't sync my fitbit steps to MFP because the adjustments just didn't seem to make any sense for me (like 500 extra calories for 3000steps). Just out of interest, when you go onto the fitbit app, what does it say your daily burn is? (on the desktop app you can find out your 28day average burn also, I find this much more helpful than relying on MFP calorie adjustment)
I appreciate that you're not always eating all of those calories back but in the last 7 days, on average you're eating 3284kcals per day. TDEE calculators put you at about 2,887kcals to maintain with a very active activity level. Of course, as you have a fitbit, you can have a vague idea as to how accurate that TDEE value is (which is why I asked before).
Also, bit of an aside, but have you considered increasing your protein levels? Currently you're averaging around 20% which is fine, but as you're doing a lot of exercise, especially endurance work, you may well benefit from a higher protein intake. Another benefit is that many people find protein filling, so this might help with your satiety on a slightly lower calorie level. Try bumping it up to around 30% and see how it goes.
I would say on average I get between 30-35000 steps during the week and upwards of 40000 on the weekend. Being that I was unhappy with the weight gain, I did start to incorporate some running and eating less, around 2300-2400 calories. I also did try to incorporate some more protein in my diet the last few days but it is difficult because I have selective eating disorder (look it up if you don't know what it is, basically picky eating to the extreme). I'm seeing my weight start to go back down. I would eventually like to bulk but I think it'll have to be a bulk with no sweets and stuff because I will binge on ice cream and cake etc. I also want to not do as much activity and get down to around 15-20000 steps a day but I really struggle to find my maintenance. I also love eating the foods that I actually enjoy so that makes it even more difficult lol
I think you've misunderstood my point. Those numbers are are high even considering the amount of steps your do. I appreciate that you would like to reduce the amount of exercise you do right now, but I think that one of your issues you're having is that you're over estimating your calorie burn. From what you've said, at the moment you're swinging from undereating to overeating and are clearly struggling to find a balance. May I suggest unlinking your fitbit from your account because honestly I don't think it's helping and I think it's just muddying your numbers. From there you really have three options as the step you can take.
1) Work out what your maintaining calories is, then reduce your steps afterwards, adjusting your calories as you go
2) Reduce your steps first, then work out your maintenance calories
3) Try eating at fixed amount. At the same time try reducing your steps.
Personally I've go with the third option and pick an target of around about 3000kcals initially. Reducing calories as you reduce the number of steps.
And remember that finding comfortable maintenance isn't easy. If you speak to people who have successfully maintained for long term, they'll tell you that the transition is often hard. Expect to gain some weight, expect to lose some weight as you try and find a balance. Especially as you're changing around your exercise amount.
Oh, and yes, water weight can make your clothes feel tighter. That is completely normal.
Correct, I am struggling to find maintenance. My average burn through the fitbit app is around 4300 but I am rarely eating anywhere near that. My plan is to get rid of this extra water weight or whatever and then reduce my steps to around 15-20k and pick an arbitrary number of calories, maybe like 2300 or so and just adjust from there hopefully.
The only way you can get rid of the water weight is by reducing the stress you're causing your body. By eating more and exercising less.0 -
Hi @imath0303, finally had a chance to look through your diary and well ... honestly I cannot see how you're burning so much from exercise. Yesterday you got 2,103kcals for exercise, 3,652kcals the day before and 3,172kcals the day before that. What are you doing to get those kind of numbers? I know it's calorie adjustment from fitbit, but just doing 20miles walking wouldn't even be close to that kind of burn. Personally I don't sync my fitbit steps to MFP because the adjustments just didn't seem to make any sense for me (like 500 extra calories for 3000steps). Just out of interest, when you go onto the fitbit app, what does it say your daily burn is? (on the desktop app you can find out your 28day average burn also, I find this much more helpful than relying on MFP calorie adjustment)
I appreciate that you're not always eating all of those calories back but in the last 7 days, on average you're eating 3284kcals per day. TDEE calculators put you at about 2,887kcals to maintain with a very active activity level. Of course, as you have a fitbit, you can have a vague idea as to how accurate that TDEE value is (which is why I asked before).
Also, bit of an aside, but have you considered increasing your protein levels? Currently you're averaging around 20% which is fine, but as you're doing a lot of exercise, especially endurance work, you may well benefit from a higher protein intake. Another benefit is that many people find protein filling, so this might help with your satiety on a slightly lower calorie level. Try bumping it up to around 30% and see how it goes.
I would say on average I get between 30-35000 steps during the week and upwards of 40000 on the weekend. Being that I was unhappy with the weight gain, I did start to incorporate some running and eating less, around 2300-2400 calories. I also did try to incorporate some more protein in my diet the last few days but it is difficult because I have selective eating disorder (look it up if you don't know what it is, basically picky eating to the extreme). I'm seeing my weight start to go back down. I would eventually like to bulk but I think it'll have to be a bulk with no sweets and stuff because I will binge on ice cream and cake etc. I also want to not do as much activity and get down to around 15-20000 steps a day but I really struggle to find my maintenance. I also love eating the foods that I actually enjoy so that makes it even more difficult lol
I think you've misunderstood my point. Those numbers are are high even considering the amount of steps your do. I appreciate that you would like to reduce the amount of exercise you do right now, but I think that one of your issues you're having is that you're over estimating your calorie burn. From what you've said, at the moment you're swinging from undereating to overeating and are clearly struggling to find a balance. May I suggest unlinking your fitbit from your account because honestly I don't think it's helping and I think it's just muddying your numbers. From there you really have three options as the step you can take.
1) Work out what your maintaining calories is, then reduce your steps afterwards, adjusting your calories as you go
2) Reduce your steps first, then work out your maintenance calories
3) Try eating at fixed amount. At the same time try reducing your steps.
Personally I've go with the third option and pick an target of around about 3000kcals initially. Reducing calories as you reduce the number of steps.
And remember that finding comfortable maintenance isn't easy. If you speak to people who have successfully maintained for long term, they'll tell you that the transition is often hard. Expect to gain some weight, expect to lose some weight as you try and find a balance. Especially as you're changing around your exercise amount.
Oh, and yes, water weight can make your clothes feel tighter. That is completely normal.
Correct, I am struggling to find maintenance. My average burn through the fitbit app is around 4300 but I am rarely eating anywhere near that. My plan is to get rid of this extra water weight or whatever and then reduce my steps to around 15-20k and pick an arbitrary number of calories, maybe like 2300 or so and just adjust from there hopefully.
Important note I want you to remember. You have been stressing your body.
Your hormones are out of whack. There will be a long adjustment period.
DO NOT PANIC.
Do something to distract yourself while you collect at least six weeks (or more) of data.
Your hormones need to normalize before you get a real picture of what that intake vs. that activity level is going to actually look like in real world results.
0 -
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »Hi @imath0303, finally had a chance to look through your diary and well ... honestly I cannot see how you're burning so much from exercise. Yesterday you got 2,103kcals for exercise, 3,652kcals the day before and 3,172kcals the day before that. What are you doing to get those kind of numbers? I know it's calorie adjustment from fitbit, but just doing 20miles walking wouldn't even be close to that kind of burn. Personally I don't sync my fitbit steps to MFP because the adjustments just didn't seem to make any sense for me (like 500 extra calories for 3000steps). Just out of interest, when you go onto the fitbit app, what does it say your daily burn is? (on the desktop app you can find out your 28day average burn also, I find this much more helpful than relying on MFP calorie adjustment)
I appreciate that you're not always eating all of those calories back but in the last 7 days, on average you're eating 3284kcals per day. TDEE calculators put you at about 2,887kcals to maintain with a very active activity level. Of course, as you have a fitbit, you can have a vague idea as to how accurate that TDEE value is (which is why I asked before).
Also, bit of an aside, but have you considered increasing your protein levels? Currently you're averaging around 20% which is fine, but as you're doing a lot of exercise, especially endurance work, you may well benefit from a higher protein intake. Another benefit is that many people find protein filling, so this might help with your satiety on a slightly lower calorie level. Try bumping it up to around 30% and see how it goes.
I would say on average I get between 30-35000 steps during the week and upwards of 40000 on the weekend. Being that I was unhappy with the weight gain, I did start to incorporate some running and eating less, around 2300-2400 calories. I also did try to incorporate some more protein in my diet the last few days but it is difficult because I have selective eating disorder (look it up if you don't know what it is, basically picky eating to the extreme). I'm seeing my weight start to go back down. I would eventually like to bulk but I think it'll have to be a bulk with no sweets and stuff because I will binge on ice cream and cake etc. I also want to not do as much activity and get down to around 15-20000 steps a day but I really struggle to find my maintenance. I also love eating the foods that I actually enjoy so that makes it even more difficult lol
I think you've misunderstood my point. Those numbers are are high even considering the amount of steps your do. I appreciate that you would like to reduce the amount of exercise you do right now, but I think that one of your issues you're having is that you're over estimating your calorie burn. From what you've said, at the moment you're swinging from undereating to overeating and are clearly struggling to find a balance. May I suggest unlinking your fitbit from your account because honestly I don't think it's helping and I think it's just muddying your numbers. From there you really have three options as the step you can take.
1) Work out what your maintaining calories is, then reduce your steps afterwards, adjusting your calories as you go
2) Reduce your steps first, then work out your maintenance calories
3) Try eating at fixed amount. At the same time try reducing your steps.
Personally I've go with the third option and pick an target of around about 3000kcals initially. Reducing calories as you reduce the number of steps.
And remember that finding comfortable maintenance isn't easy. If you speak to people who have successfully maintained for long term, they'll tell you that the transition is often hard. Expect to gain some weight, expect to lose some weight as you try and find a balance. Especially as you're changing around your exercise amount.
Oh, and yes, water weight can make your clothes feel tighter. That is completely normal.
Correct, I am struggling to find maintenance. My average burn through the fitbit app is around 4300 but I am rarely eating anywhere near that. My plan is to get rid of this extra water weight or whatever and then reduce my steps to around 15-20k and pick an arbitrary number of calories, maybe like 2300 or so and just adjust from there hopefully.
Important note I want you to remember. You have been stressing your body.
Your hormones are out of whack. There will be a long adjustment period.
DO NOT PANIC.
Do something to distract yourself while you collect at least six weeks (or more) of data.
Your hormones need to normalize before you get a real picture of what that intake vs. that activity level is going to actually look like in real world results.
Thank you for the input. I appreciate it! I know I'm being annoying lol2
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